The bus, owned and operated by Lisburn company Richmond Coaches, crashed just before 9am this morning near the locality of Middelkerke, in West Flanders, Belgium.
The vehicle was carrying 34 pupils and six teachers from Brentwood School in Essex, along with two drivers, believed to be from Northern Ireland. The children were aged between 11 and 13, and were on their way to a theme park in Cologne, Germany.
It is understood the bus overturned and ended up resting on its side after colliding against a motorway bridge pillar. The driver died in the crash, and one of the children has been taking to hospital with severe head injuries. The two teachers and two other children are also believed to be receiving medical attention in hospital.